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The St. Simons Island Light is a lighthouse on the southern tip of St. Simons Island, Georgia, United States. It guides ships into St. Simons Sound and warns of the many sandbars in the area.

St. Simons Island Light

Lighthouse and keeper's house
Location	600 Beachview Dr., Saint Simons Island, Georgia
Coordinates	31.13411°N 81.39358°W / 31.13411; -81.39358
Tower
Constructed	1810
Foundation	Tabby
Construction	Iron and brick
Automated	1954
Height	104 feet (32 m)
Shape	Frustum of a cone
Markings	White tower attached to a two-story brick dwelling with red roof
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1872
Focal height	32 m (105 ft)
Lens	Third-order Fresnel lens
Characteristic	continuous white light with a more intense flash every 60 s
St. Simons Lighthouse and Lighthouse Keepers' Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Area	3.6 acres (1.5 ha)
Built	1889
Architect	Bvt. Gen. O.M. Poe, Charles B. Cluskey
Architectural style	Gothic, Eclectic
NRHP reference No.	72000386[1]
Added to NRHP	April 13, 1972

History

Original structure

The original St. Simons Island lighthouse, which was built in 1810, was a 75-foot-tall (23 m) early federal octagonal lighthouse topped by a 10-foot (3.0 m) oil-burning lamp. During the American Civil War, U.S. military forces employed a Naval blockade of the coast. An invasion by Union troops in 1862 forced Confederate soldiers to abandon the area. The retreating troops destroyed the lighthouse to prevent it from being an aid to the navigation of Union warships.

Current structure

The U.S. government constructed a new lighthouse to replace the original, building it to the west of the original's location. It is a 104-foot (32 m) brick structure completed in 1872 and was outfitted with a third-order, biconvex Fresnel lens. The lens is one of 70 such lenses that remain operational in the United States. Sixteen of those are in use on the Great Lakes, of which eight are in Michigan.[2] The rotating lens projects four beams of light, with one strong flash every 60 seconds.[3] A cast iron spiral stairway with 129 steps[3] leads to the galley (or watch/service room). In 1876, the lighthouse was overhauled.

In 1934 the kerosene-burning lamp was replaced by a 1000-watt electrical light, and was fully automated in 1953.[4][3]

On July 1, 1939, the United States Lighthouse Service was placed under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard.[3]

In 1972, the Coast Guard placed rear range lights on two towers at the entrance to the Frederica River off of St. Simons Sound. Entering the entrance channel at sea and proceeding inward, by keeping the lighthouse centered between the two rear range lights, keeps one in the center of the entrance channel. The lighthouse is therefore still an active navigational aid.[5]

In 1972, the light-keepers' cottage was leased to Glynn County. The Coastal Georgia Historical Society spent three years restoring the two-story Victorian light keepers' cottage, located at the base of the lighthouse, which was then converted into a museum. In 1984, they leased the historic lighthouse structure. For a fee, the public can tour the museum, and climb the 129 steps to the top of the lighthouse for a view of St. Simons Sound and the surrounding area.[4]

The tower underwent restoration in 1989–91 and again in 1997–98.

May 26, 2004, ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the Coastal Georgia Historical Society under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.[4]

The light mechanism is maintained by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, led by Jeff Cole since 1993.[3][6]

The St. Simons Lighthouse, along with the northernmost water tower on Jekyll Island, creates the demarcation line that separates St. Simons Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.

The lighthouse is a picturesque and beloved symbol of St. Simons Island, and Glynn County, Georgia. It is the subject of many paintings and other artistic renderings.[7]

2010 restoration

In 2010, the St. Simons Island lighthouse underwent a major renovation. It was closed to the public for several months while all interior and exterior paint was sandblasted off, and then repainted. Eight iron handrail posts at the top of the tower were replaced, having been recast from one of the originals. All ironwork was sandblasted and repaired as needed. Great lengths were taken to protect the valuable Fresnel lens during the restoration. It was bubble wrapped, shrink wrapped, and then finally enclosed in a plywood box. A temporary spotlight attached to the galley of the lighthouse continued to guide ships into the Sound while the main light was out of operation.

List of Head Keepers

• James Gould (1811–1837)
• Lachlan McIntosh (1837–1852)
• Alexander D. McIntosh (1852–1855)
• John F. Carmon (1855–1861)
• Bradford B. Brunt (1872–1874)
• Frederick Osborne (1874–1880)
• George W. Ashbell (1880–1883)
• Isaac L. Peckham (1883–1892)
• Joseph Champagne (1892–1907)
• Carl O. Svendsen (1907–1935)
• Arthur F. Hodge (1936–1945)
• David O’Hagan (1945–1953)

Ref: [4]

Museum

The Coastal Georgia Historical Society allows visitors to climb up the 129 steps of the lighthouse tower and operates the St. Simons Lighthouse Museum in the 1872 keeper's house.

The Society's headquarters are located in the adjacent A. W. Jones Heritage Center, which includes exhibits, the Society's archives, a research library, event hall, museum shop, and administrative offices.

The Society also operates the World War II Home Front Museum on St. Simons.

Image gallery

See also

• List of maritime museums in the United States

References

Further reading

• Jones, Ray, (1988) Southeastern Lighthouses.
• McCarthy, Kevin (1988) Georgia's Lighthouses and Historic Coastal Sites.
• Sullivan, Buddy, The Lighthouses of Georgia, The Keeper's Log, Spring 1988.

External links

• St. Simons Island Light on the World List of Lights
• Georgia's Coastal Lighthouses
• St. Simons Island Lighthouse website.
• Media related to St. Simons Island Light at Wikimedia Commons

Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Georgia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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